Short answer. Often yes. Article 1680 of the Civil Code gives the lessee a right to a rent reduction in case of the loss of more than one-half of the fruits through extraordinary and unforeseen fortuitous events, such as an unusual flood, unless the lease specifically stipulates otherwise.
What the law says
he shall have such right in case of the loss of more than one-half of the fruits through extraordinary and unforeseen fortuitous events, save always when there is a specific stipulation to the contrary
Civil Code, Article 1680 — Rent Reduction for Loss of Crops. Read the full provision →
Extraordinary disasters can lower the rent
While ordinary farming setbacks fall on the tenant, the law treats a genuine catastrophe differently. It grants the lessee a right to a reduction of the rent in case of the loss of more than one-half of the fruits through extraordinary and unforeseen fortuitous events. A typhoon or flood that wipes out most of a harvest is the kind of event the provision has in mind. The idea is that such disasters lie far outside the normal risks a farmer takes on, so the burden is shared rather than left entirely on the tenant who did nothing to cause it.
Two conditions: extraordinary event and over half lost
The right is not triggered by every storm. Two requirements must both be present. First, the cause must be an extraordinary and unforeseen fortuitous event. The article itself gives examples of what qualifies as extraordinary, listing fire, war, pestilence, unusual flood, locusts, earthquake, or others which are uncommon, and which the contracting parties could not have reasonably foreseen. Second, the loss must exceed one-half of the fruits. A modest dip in yield does not qualify; the destruction has to pass the halfway mark. Only when both the nature of the event and the extent of the loss are met does the right to a reduction arise.
A stipulation in the lease can change this
The right applies save always when there is a specific stipulation to the contrary. This means the parties are free to allocate the risk differently in the lease itself. A contract might, for instance, provide that the tenant bears the risk of crop loss even from extraordinary events, or set out a different mechanism for adjusting rent after a disaster. Where such a stipulation exists, it governs. So before assuming relief is automatic after a typhoon, the tenant should read the lease, because a clear contrary provision can displace the default the article otherwise supplies.
Proving the claim after a disaster
A tenant seeking a reduction should be ready to show both elements. Document the event and its severity, and record the state of the crop before and after, so the extent of the loss can be established as more than half. Photographs, dates, and any official advisories about the flood or typhoon help. Bear in mind the reduction is a proportionate easing of the rent for the affected period, not a cancellation of the tenancy or a licence to stop paying altogether. Framed properly, though, the law clearly allows the burden of an extraordinary disaster to be shared with the owner.
Cases citing this provision
These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.
- Edgar Cokaliong Shipping Lines, Inc., vs. UCPB General Insurance Company, Inc, G.R. No. 146018, June 25, 2003 — read the decision on LawPhil →